


The Gift of Magic

by skinnedkneedmisfit



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Christmas fic, Gen, General fluff, Improper use of magic, M/M, slightly canon divergent?, sora giving riku Grief for christmas, would take place after KH2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 12:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9123799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinnedkneedmisfit/pseuds/skinnedkneedmisfit
Summary: Riku meets with Sora late Christmas night for a special surprise. He gets more that he could have ever dreamed of.Part of my KH Secret Santa gift for @goldenemolga!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoldenEmolga](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenEmolga/gifts).



> IT HAS BEEN A VERY VERY LONG TIME SINCE I'VE WRITTEN A CANON-COMPLIANT KH FIC. I apologize if it doesn't exactly make sense in continuity. I've only played Dream Drop Distance once but……… pretend that there's a few months break between the end of KHII and anything that happens after that. I took some liberties but I hope it reads well! (also the only person I could get to proofread under such short notice has never played the games, so it's only been checked for grammar/spelling)
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH!! HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!! BELATEDLY!!

This was their first Christmas back on the islands, and Sora had to make it special, had to make it worthwhile for his best friend.

“Alright, Sora. What was so important that I  _ had _ to come out at-” Riku pulled back the long sleeve of his white cotton button-up shirt, a Destiny Island High School winter uniform staple, to reveal a wristwatch, “-wow, nine at night? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Normally taking boats out to the kid’s island after dark was frowned upon, but they were teenagers now (and had saved the world a staggering amount of times between them both) so it was mutually agreed upon that those rules hardly applied to them. Sora stood on the small island where he spent so much of the youth with Riku and Kairi watching the sunsets, waiting for Riku to finish crossing the small bridge between them. He had a very big gift.

Riku seemed to sense this. Despite being back home and away from all the fantastical adventures that dominated their adolescence, the magic still remained, and with it a heightened sense of awareness. Sora watched as Riku paused after setting food on the sandy surface of the small island.

“Sora?” he asked, wary of the boy’s hands hidden behind his back and out of sight. “What’ve you got there, buddy?”

This was the moment Sora had been waiting for. He pulled his hands out and surprised Riku with a small box, about the size of his own palm, wrapped in pretty red paper with a white bow. Riku had spent enough Christmases around Sora’s family to know that his friend and his mother couldn’t wrap presents for crap.

“Where did that-”

“Santa Claus.”

It wasn’t exactly uncommon for Sora to catch Riku in a fit of silence. He was used to a lot of pauses while he waited for Riku to connect the dots.

Riku was perplexed, glancing to the side. “…I don’t-”

“He’s  _ real.” _

“What, like you met him?” Sora only grinned and Riku was practically gaping. Sora and Riku had both done so much in their journeys, and Riku still had so much to learn as a Keyblade Master, that they found themselves swapping stories now more than ever. “Tell me  _ everything.” _

“So it’s like Christmas all the time there. The elves sleep in these little houses where there’s always a Christmas tree by the fireplace because it’s  _ always _ snowing there. It’s like rain but it’s frozen, all wispy and soft, and it flutters to the ground like confetti and-”

“I know what snow is, dumbass. Keep going.”

“Right! Anyway, There’s this forest of like, decaying fir trees that are so tall they stretch into forever, taller than the palm trees in the grove, and there’s this meadow with seven huge trees with doors, like-”

“Like the seven princesses of heart,” Riku said gravely.

“Not– well, not really, like different holidays and each door has a different one painted on it, and there’s a door with a Christmas tree on it, and if you go through it you find Christmastown! And we met Santa and he knew who you were!”

Riku was pulled out of his deep thoughts by that last statement. “…Really?”

“Yeah! He called you out on  _ lying _ to me! Telling me there was no such thing as Santa!”

“I was  _ eight. _ And just because that world has a Santa Claus doesn’t mean our world does. I stand by my words. _ ” _

Sora just smiled and tossed the small box in his hands. “If you say so. But boys who don’t believe in Santa don’t get gifts from Santa on Christmas,” he teased.

The toss was set a little high, but Riku snatched the small box from the air and looked it over. It had a small tag that he read over with haste.  _ “To Sora, Riku, and Kairi. From, Santa Claus.” _

“It says it’s for Kairi too. We should wait.”

“She’ll be by soon. There’s enough for everybody.”

“So you know what’s in it?” Riku asked. His softened his grip on the box and Sora took the opportunity to snatch it back.

“If he delivered what I asked him for, I do… And… it’s also my gift for you.”

Riku’s curiosity was piqued. Sora pulled back on the silvery ribbon and lifted the lid of the box, just a crack so he could get a peek in before showing it off to Riku. Once he was sure what it was, Sora’s smile stretched across his face and he removed the lid completely.

Inside was a small glass bottle, frosty and cold despite the island’s humid temperature. The contents glowed a soft blue against the satin lining inside the box. Riku didn’t have to blink to know what that was.

“Ether?” His question was confirmed by Sora looking up at him and smiling. Although magic like what they used in their journeys couldn’t be taught in their world, what they learned didn’t disappear upon returning home. Their magic reserves however, once depleted, couldn’t be replenished.

“There should be enough for each of us to take a few sips,” Sora whispered in awe.

Riku marveled at the possibilities. It was a small bottle, probably only good for a few spells each, but being able to stretch his magic after months of being inert sounded like the best gift he could have ever received.

“Sora… thank you so much,” he said, dumbfounded; and the happiest he had been since coming home.

“Oh! Well, you’re welcome, but that’s not your gift from me.”

Riku gave him a curious look. “Then what could it possibly be?”

Sora just grinned and pulled the top off the bottle. He passed the bottle to Riku, insisting that he take a sip. Riku was sure to leave enough that Sora and Kairi could have their fair share. The extra flutter through his veins felt new after going so long without. That feeling alone was worth it. He felt like he could run faster, jump higher… like he could  _ fly. _

“You never learned elemental magic, did you?” Sora asked.

Riku was struck by the sudden question. The simple answer was no, he never did. He learned how to erect shields and teleport, often with the help of darkness and light, but magic like Sora’s, taking advantage of fire, ice, and electricity, was largely unknown to him.

Sora took his best friend’s silence at face value. “Well, this is my Christmas gift to you.” He summoned his keyblade, and Riku followed, almost in a daze. Instead of sparring like they usually did on the small island, standing face-to-face in aggressive stances, Sora stood by his side and helped Riku adjust his stance.

“You got it,” Sora grinned, once he was sure Riku’s posture was perfect. “Slope your keyblade like this, and…”

Riku swung his keyblade in a wide sweep horizontally. He felt a surge from his heart, forgotten but familiar, quickly pulse down his right arm and connect through his keyblade. It felt  _ cold. _

Suddenly, a blue spell ricocheted from the tip of his blade, shooting off several yards into the distance before fading away. Riku was left stunned, only brought back when he realized Sora was applauding by his side.

“Congratulations, Riku! You just cast Blizzard!”

Despite how fantastic that just was, Riku quickly collected himself. He wasn’t acting as cool around Sora as he usually did, and he tried to put that mask back on.

“And I didn’t even need a stupid duck to show me how.”

Sora didn’t take the bait. He just smiled up at him, all sunshine even after dark. “Yeah, but you needed me,” he laughed. The laughter faded to something a little more contemplative.

Sometimes it shocked Riku how much he desperately needed Sora, how much the  _ worlds _ needed Sora. He opened his mouth, fully intent on making a fool of himself and telling his best friend as much, until Sora snapped out of his short-lived meditation and took the bottle from where he stashed it by his bag, safely away from their practice area.

“I hope you’re ready for the  _ real _ present!”

Riku smirked, but it turned into a real smile before he could stop himself. “You’ve already given me so much…”

“Yeah, well, this kinda doubles as a present for Kairi too!” he said, after taking a couple sips from the bottle. There was just enough left for Kairi once she got there. Sora was jumping around like a giddy little kid after taking his sip, and Riku couldn’t help but chuckle. “Are you watching? Riku, are you watching? Because I think I can only do this once!”

Riku took a step back, knowing full well what kind of magic his friend was capable of. “I’m watching. All eyes on you.”

“Good! Okay!” He raised his keyblade towards the sky, eyes shining bright. “Blizzaga!”

Riku felt a jolt of cold against his skin the likes of which he’d never felt on the islands before. His t-shirt clad arms erupted in goosebumps and he gripped his biceps with a shiver. “What did you do?” he cried, but wasn’t terribly worried. The piercing winds soon faded and what was left was a pleasant chill that cooled the constant layer of sweat any citizen of Destiny Island was well familiar with. The spell lingered, causing soft flakes of snow to fall from the crystal-clear skies. They reflected blue in the moonlight, and looked every bit as beautiful as Riku imagined snow in the tropics to be.

Riku wandered through it, reveling in the feeling of ice touching and melting against his warm skin. He wished he’d brought his jacket.

Sora was back over by the paopu tree, rooting through his bag and pulling out an oversized quilt, the one that usually rested on the back of his mom’s couch, which Riku was certain Sora didn’t get permission to use and would get in trouble once his mom found it soaked later on. Despite that, Sora placed it on the low-hanging trunk where they usually sat. Riku took it as an invitation to sit down.

Sora jumped up on the spot beside them, and they waited. “Kairi’s going to be so excited,” Sora chuckled. “Do you think it snowed where she came from?”

It had gotten colder. Riku noticed Sora, also wearing a threadbare t-shirt even though the boy  _ planned _ for this, shivering slightly. He rolled his eyes and scooted the scant inches over so their arms touched.

“Riku!” he gasped, ignoring personal space and burrowing himself into the older boy’s side. “You’re so  _ warm!” _

“Shut up, loser,” he muttered, wrapping an arm around his best friend’s shoulders regardless. Off in the distance, they could just make out a rippling break in the moonlit waves, the telltale sign of a paddle boat making it’s way towards the dock. Kairi would be here very soon. Their time alone was growing shorter by the second.

“Thanks, Sora,” Riku continued lowly, even though there was still nobody on the island but them.

Sora hummed softly in response, curling closer to Riku. The older boy reciprocated by tightening his hold and bending down, letting his lips touch the crown of Sora’s head and rest there. His friend smelled like sea salt and tart fruit, a scent unique to the islands, and something more- a scent Riku hadn’t realized he missed so much until they returned home _. _

It was the feeling a toy sword made of driftwood in his hand, worn down and impossible to blister. The taste and grit of the salt and sand in his mouth after swimming in the bay. The sounds of birds calling and waves crashing in the early morning. The burn in his eyes when he laid with his back on the sand, sun blaring down as he rested. The smell that overwhelmed right after biting into the soft flesh of a paopu fruit.

There were new senses he couldn’t explain, the thrum of magic under his fingernails, and the odd patter of his heart whenever he was near Sora. It was strange and familiar, something new and nostalgic all at once but he was once again surrounded by every sense of  _ home. _

 

__

**Author's Note:**

> (i was 2 seconds away from naming this fic "I know what snow is, dumbass")
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please kudos/comment if you enjoyed! Feel free to follow me on @skinnedkneedmisfit on tumblr (although it's king of a haikyuu cesspit right now).


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